Cornell sends Sacco to WPIAL Finals

Andrew Chiappazzi @BCT_AChiappazzi

Wednesday

Feb 29, 2012 at 12:01 AM

NORTH FAYETTE TWP. — For the first three quarters Tuesday night, Bill Sacco was experiencing a heartbreaking case of déjà vu. For 40 years, Sacco has tried to coach a team to the WPIAL finals, only to fall short. And Tuesday night, his Cornell squad was down ten points entering the fourth quarter to one of the stingiest defenses in Class A.

Then Cornell’s offense exploded.

The Raiders scored 28-points in the final quarter, The outburst ignited a stunning rally that gave the No. 6 Raiders a 57-49 upset of No. 2 North Catholic, had Cornell fans storming the court and left Sacco wiping tears of joy from his eyes.

“Going into the fourth quarter ten points down, it didn’t look good,” Sacco said. “But these kids just keep playing and playing. I just couldn’t believe it. I don’t know how to describe them.”

Sacco’s drought was well-known. One of his former students, Kentucky coach John Calipari, posted a message on Twitter after the game congratulating Sacco and Cornell.

“My HS coach Bill Sacco just led his team to a win today that put them in the WPIAL finals,” Calipari tweeted. “Couldn’t be happier 4 a great coach & a good guy.”

Cornell’s five-man senior class had been playing together since freshmen, and they soaked up the aftermath of the comeback.

“Ever since we were in ninth grade, we’ve been talking about how when we were seniors, we were going to Palumbo,” Dorian Maynard said. “Now we are.”

Maynard was one of the Raiders second-half sparks. He scored 12 of his 20 points in the second half, and quieted North Catholic’s Daniel Savulchak, who had just seven of his 22 points after halftime.

The other boost came from the free throw line. Cornell quietly worked North Catholic into foul trouble in the third quarter, and the first foul in the fourth sent the Raiders into the bonus. They went 15-for-18 from the line in the fourth quarter, 23-for-27 for the game. Cornell closed the 10-point gap to four by hitting six straight free throws in the opening minute of the quarter.

Corey Mackey hit a step-back jumper with 5:31 to go that cut it to a two-point deficit, and Maynard fed Daniel Weryha on a perfectly timed pick-and-roll to finally tie the game at 45.

“Once we tied that score, I knew our opportunity was knocking,” Sacco said.

Weryha fed Maynard on a fast break to give Cornell its first lead of the game one possession later. North Catholic was reeling, and Cornell kept coming, stretching the lead to six. Maynard finally iced the game by hitting 3-of-4 free throws after North Catholic’s Jonathan LeGrande was tagged with a personal foul and technical foul with 8.6 seconds left.

Sacco and Cornell will have a familiar opponent in their first final, section rival Lincoln Park.

“We have an opportunity now, and that’s something that’s great for the community,” Sacco said.

For 40 years, Sacco has thought of the opportunity to coach a team in a WPIAL title game. Now, he’ll have that opportunity with a senior class he’s been leaning on for four years.